1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of mobile asset tracking and monitoring and, more particularly, to systems for and methods of tracking and monitoring assets in a waste management service environment.
2. Background of the Invention
Commonly, in conjunction with the collection of refuse, a waste management collection service provides waste containers at a plurality of customer sites. The collection service then takes appropriate steps, generally according to a pre-established schedule, to empty the containers and remove the contents for disposal. Waste container types used by customers are diverse in the industry and include, for example, residential or commercial large-volume metal containers such as dumpsters, roll-off containers, and rolling lift (or tip) carts.
Waste containers are significant assets. A waste management collection service may deploy thousands of containers in the field, each of which typically cost several thousand dollars. This can result in an asset inventory that totals in the millions or tens-of-millions of dollars. Consequently, there is a large capital investment made by waste management collection service providers in these mobile assets.
Customer turnover and other events require that new containers be deployed and old containers be removed from service as a part of normal business operations. Unfortunately, in some cases, containers are moved without the knowledge of the waste management collection service. Presently, however, other than at initial purchase and deployment, there is no automated way to determine the location of container assets in a waste management environment.
We have determined that there exists a need to provide an automated manner in which an inventory of container assets can be created and maintained. We have also determined that there exists a need to provide a way to identify container assets deployed at customer sites, identify missing containers, and minimize any potential interruption of customer service.